Multicultural Education Essay

Multicultural education refers to applying various aspects of different learning styles and techniques to reach children of different racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Because the extent of these variations is so diverse, educationists have begun to integrate material within the classroom to ensure each child is efficiently and equally benefitting scholastically. There are some Americans however, who disagree with multicultural education; these people think that multicultural education designs would strike down what it means to be an “American” country. Fortunately, for the sake of innocent children, this discriminative ideology is kept away from classrooms. In order to propel multicultural education in the classroom; I on behalf of illustration, could apply James Banks’s approaches to enhance orientation between diverse students. For example while teaching 8th grade history; I would use Bank’s Contribution Approach. In doing so, I would have my students choose their favorite musical artist. Although I would need research to confirm the accuracy; I assume most (if not everyone) has different ancestral blood within them. By having the students choose a musical artist they idolize; I could help students understand that it doesn’t matter what heritage a person comes from, for it is because who they are and how one can relate to them. Using this strategy, students would have to research the artist’s background and history. After this I would have them write an essay that asks them to identify what they like about this person and if their ethnicity and culture made them view the artist differently. If instructing tenth grade History, I would use the Additive Approach. Because the curriculum is not changed, but the content is enriched upon; I would choose a costume party during a lesson. Say there were no “special” awareness months during this time, (Women’s History Month, Martin Luther King Day etc.) I would have the students pick a person whom they are